Alternative Famous Firsts
Dave Hanacek
Music Director/ Middays
92.9 KJEE Santa Barbara's Modern Rock
It was the late '90s, and I had this wild balance—drafting full-time by day and playing in two bands by night. But something was missing, so I decided to take a chance and intern at the local radio station. I started small, answering phones at night, then eventually found myself hosting a weekend show. Fast forward a few years, and I was on air Monday through Friday from 6 to 10 PM, then moved to afternoons. Eventually, I became the music director. Each stage of my journey was more challenging, but also more rewarding. I wasn’t just playing music; I was shaping the vibe and turning the airwaves in Santa Barbara into my playground. It was a crash course in the radio business, and an absolute blast.
In 6th grade, I had one goal: get to the LA Forum to see Van Halen on their 1984 tour. I begged my sister and her boyfriend to take me, and looking back, I had no idea what I was walking into. But once those lights went down and Eddie Van Halen hit the stage, I knew one thing for sure – I was witnessing something incredible. The energy, the volume, the power of that show? It changed the way I saw music forever. It was the first time I truly understood that live music isn’t just a performance – it’s an experience you feel. I’ve never forgotten that moment.
When I was 8, I saw the cover of Elvis Presley: Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite and had no idea who Elvis Was – but something about that album spoke to me. I begged my mom to buy it, and when I finally dropped the needle on that vinyl, I was hooked. The man’s voice, his swagger, his entire presence -- it felt like I was being introduced to the very soul of rock ‘n’ roll. That was the moment I realized records were more than just songs—they were an entire world waiting to be explored.
July 20, 2001 – Green Day’s Warning tour, and I was lucky enough to score my first live interview with them at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Now, when I say they didn’t hold back, I mean it. The entire interview was full of bleep-worthy moments, and they didn’t care. I was trying to stay professional, but they were doing anything but that. It was chaos! In this industry, things don’t always go according to plan. You can’t control everything, but you can control how you roll with it. Green Day gave me a masterclass in spontaneity, and I learned the hard way.
Then there was that Saturday morning in my late 20’s. I had definitely overdone it the night before, but somehow I made it to the station to cover my shift. Long story short, I fell asleep at the board. Cue 20 minutes of dead air – nothing but pure silence. When the program director came in and saved me, I felt like my soul was leaving my body. In radio, you can’t phone it in. You have to show up, no matter what’s going on in your head (or your hangover). It was a lesson in accountability, but also in humility. Dead air is real, and it’s not your friend.
Kenny Wall
Founder/Partnered Programming Group & Program Director
KXNA (The X 104.9)/Fayetteville, AR
Started one week out of high school in 1984 at KVOM in Morrilton, AR. I was actually spinning records at that time. We didn’t have a playlist, we just had three boxes of music we chose from and played them. There was some method to the madness, but not much. Taught me about programming early. Also, a lot of how I treat people now comes from the lessons I learned from the station owner Stan Willis. Lots of lessons learned.
Willie Nelson with Delbert McClinton at the Pine Bluff Convention Center in Pine Bluff, AR I believe in 1980.
I think it was the 45 of “You Decorated My Life” by Kenny Rogers. Not proud of that.
Keith Whitley. He was such a nice man. He was playing a show at a local bar and invited me to the show. Afterwards, he brought me onto the bus and showed me the video to the song “When You Say Nothing At All”. It had not been released yet. One thing I remember him saying was, he refused to kiss the actress in the video because he felt that would be disrespecting to his wife. Solid dude.
At KVOM, I was doing the evening show. Now, I was also in college and was partying pretty hard. One night I was particularly tired. I put on “There’s No Way” by Alabama and decided to rest my eyes. What I think was about 10 minutes later, I woke up to the clicking sound of the record and the phone ringing. Luckily, nobody working at the station heard that. Lesson learned.
Lexi Ziccardi
On-Air Afternoons / Promotions Director
WEDG (103.3 The Edge)/Buffalo
Board op for WBEN 930 AM.
NSYNC at "The Ralph", totally epic.
When I was in first grade my mom got me out of school early and took me to the store to buy the Brittney Spears, Oops I did It Again CD. It was the year 2000.
When I first became a talent on Alternative Buffalo in May of 2017, we held our big summer festival Kerfuffle in June. After only being on-air a few weeks, Nik Rivers threw me in to interviewing the Mowglis. The band is from California...and my first question was "how's the weather in California"... They laughed with me but I was as nervous and embarrassed as I ever could be.
Back when I was a middayer on Buffalo's Star 102.5, we had just built a "fishbowl" studio in the front lobby so listeners could see us when we were on-air. I didn't know it worked like a remote access, and went on the air without switching the station over. I had to run to the other side of the building to turn my mic off after 2 full minutes of dead air. At the time I was the youngest in the building on the air, and felt like a total rookie.
